Coming Home
by edderali
Summary: Carter is very happy with Susan, but when he sees Deb again with a beau on her arm, Carter feels a twinge of.....could it possibly be....jealousy? Carsan, Jinter, Carby? It's your call... Please read and review.


Disclaimer: I don't own them..NBC does.  
  
Author's Note: I'm still relatively new to the fanfic thing, so please read and review.  
  
Spoilers: Up to Quo Vadis.I think.  
  
TITLE: Coming Home  
  
CHAPTER 1 Carter, Meet Sean  
  
Jing-Mei Chen tapped her Jimmy Choo diamond heels lightly against the tiled floor. She never thought that she'd be standing here again. The Chicago County General ER. She hoped Kerry wasn't around.it would be so awkward if she just happened to walk by. Jing-Mei shivered slightly.  
  
"You cold?" Jing-Mei turned to look at the man who stood beside her. Sean Hamilton. He looked at her, care written across his face. "Here," he said, removing his tuxedo jacket and wrapping it around her bare shoulders. "Better?"  
  
"Ah, and I was beginning to think chivalry was dead." she replied, looking up at him with a smile.  
  
"Anything for you, my Queen," he laughed, mimicking an Elizabethan bow.  
  
She giggled slightly and shook her head, taking his left hand which was wrapped up in a sheer white cloth, blood stain seeping through. "Oh, we really need someone to get this stitched up.why isn't anyone around?" She stepped up to the front desk, where Frank was busily arguing with some woman over the phone.  
  
"Don't ask me how to fix it! I'm not a doctor.if you want to help him, get him over to the ER." And with that, he hung up the phone.  
  
"Uh, Frank, I think it'd be better if you'd get a doctor to give the person advice, instead of hanging up on her."  
  
"Yeah, yeah.and who are you to tell me what to do?" Frank replied, waving her off.  
  
Jing-Mei sighed. "Could you tell me where I might find Dr. Carter or -"  
  
"How the hell would I know where Dr. Carter is? If you want to find him, go look for him yourself."  
  
"But I have a person who needs stitches and -"  
  
"Yeah, yeah..go wait in Chairs!"  
  
Jing-Mei turned away from the Desk. She knew better than to argue with Frank when he was in one of those moods. Sean asked sarcastically if everybody was always this friendly, and she had to laugh that it was just Frank. As she bent down to pick up an earring that she had dropped, somebody accidentally bumped into her.  
  
"Uh, I'm sorry." the heavily accented voice apologized, and Jing-Mei looked up to see Dr. Kovac carrying a bundle of charts. "Ma'am, I didn't mean to." He obviously hadn't recognized her yet. It must be the hair, she thought, as she reached up to adjust the tendrils that had fallen out of place.  
  
"Dr. Kovac!"  
  
"Dr. Chen? Oh, I didn't recognize you in that dress..and that hair. What are you doing back?"  
  
"Oh, my friend here needs stitches, so."  
  
"Abby can help. Abby! Patient needs a saline rubdown and stitches. Get that for me, will you? Well," he said, turning back to Jing-Mei, "I'll leave you to Abby. Um, it's great seeing you again, Dr. Chen." And he sauntered off, hands full of charts. Jing-Mei watched Abby walk over to them, as did Haleh.  
  
"Dr. Chen!" they said simultaneously.  
  
"Almost didn't recognize you in that get-up." Haleh continued, "wow, who's the man?"  
  
Sean laughed. "The man is Sean Hamilton. Pleased to meet you too."  
  
"You mean, the Sean Hamilton? Bachelor of the Year Sean Hamilton? Fortune 500 Sean Hamilton?" Abby added.  
  
"Read the Society Column much?" Haleh snickered.  
  
"One and the same. But bachelor? I dunno." he smiled at Jing-Mei.  
  
"Whoa there, cowboy. Hey, Dr. Chen, seems like you landed a live one."  
  
She laughed. "Okay, enough chit-chat..can we get these stitches done or what?"  
  
Abby directed them to Curtain 2 and went to get the necessary instruments. Sean sat down on the bed and grabbed Jing-Mei's arms, pulling her toward him.  
  
"Doesn't that hurt your hand?" she laughed.  
  
He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her full on the lips. "Want to make it all better, doctor?" he murmured.  
  
"Gladly," she said, drawing the curtain.  
  
  
  
Carter ran his fingers up and down her thigh, leaning in to kiss her hotly, first on the lips and gradually lower, down her neck, and -  
  
"Carter, Carter.we can't.what if there's an emergency? What if." But Susan's words were lost in Carter's fervent caresses. She gave in, only murmuring, "What if Weaver catches us?"  
  
"Weaver's off today." he managed to mutter between kisses.  
  
She didn't reply, simply reached up to unbutton her blouse slowly, one button after the other.  
  
Carter smiled.  
  
  
  
  
  
Jing-Mei jumped away from Sean, as Abby drew aside the curtain. Abby fought back a grin and snide remark like "It's getting a bit hot in here." Setting the kit down, she proceeded to disinfect Sean's wound, throwing Jing-Mei a wink. Jing-Mei was about to laugh when she heard a gurney being rolled in and the ER break out of its silence. Kovac was yelling for nurses and extra assistance. "MVA," he was yelling, "damn it! Where's Carter?" Jing-Mei walked toward the bustle of people and asked Kovac if he needed help. "You don't work here anymore." he started to say, but seeing as no other doctor was coming, he pointed her to the second victim coming in. Rolling the gurney into the second room, she slipped off her Jimmy Choo's and threw them in a corner, grabbing a stethoscope.  
  
Chuny remarked, "Dr. Chen, why are you -"  
  
"Carter seems to have disappeared.please, I need to intubate.no time for explanation."  
  
"Yeah, Carter and Susan.wonder where they could have gone."  
  
Jing-Mei's ears picked up on that. "What? Carter and Susan?"  
  
"Yeah, you haven't heard? They're like two teenagers.always sneaking off to make out.I caught them in the lounge last time.it's sorta cute."  
  
Haleh remarked, "But not now.not when we need them HERE."  
  
Kovac poked his head through the adjoining doors to see if everything was okay. The boy's heart rate was steady. He was breathing okay, now that he had been intubated. But he needed to have his leg set, and Jing- Mei couldn't be sure. Thank goodness Dr. Corday had come in to check if the boy needed any surgery. She told Jing-Mei that she would take care of the rest, so Jing-Mei went and picked up her shoes, slipping them back on. Carefully, she took off her smock, slightly bloodied, and laid it by the sink. Stepping into the corridor, she reached up to adjust her hair. God, it'd been a month since she had worked. It felt so good to have done something to help someone. That little boy would be okay, and she had been part of that. It reminded her that this was why she had returned to medicine in the first place. Oh, if only -  
  
"Excuse me, ma'am," a voice interrupted her thoughts, "you're going to have wait in Chairs." She knew that voice, turning to confront the person who had spoken.  
  
Carter started. First of all, this lady was wearing a long beaded gown that fell to the floor, a slit that ran up her right thigh, and she had her arms crossed over her chest, her dark eyes staring angrily into his. "Deb?"  
  
"Well, nice to see you too, Carter. I assume -" He was busily trying to put his tie back on, as she watched Susan Lewis coming around the corner, also rebuttoning her blouse.  
  
"Carter!" came Kovac's angry interjection, "Where the hell have you been, Carter? MVA and you... Thank god Dr. Chen decided to stop by otherwise I'm sure Weaver would be hearing about this tomorrow."  
  
Carter and Susan, who had come up behind them, glanced sheepishly at each other. "Well, I -" he began.  
  
"Save your excuses, Carter. I'll decide whether or not Weaver should hear about this." And with that Kovac stalked off. Suddennly, Jing-Mei felt terribly out of place. She wasn't sure if Carter was angry that she had taken his place or if he was grateful that she had saved his ass. Thank goodness Haleh had come out of the room to save her from the moment.  
  
"Hey, Dr. Chen, great save.and uh, Dr. Carter and Dr. Lewis, too bad you guys weren't here.but I'm sure you were all tied up." Haleh remarked and added, "Is Abby still with Mr. Hamilton, Dr. Chen?"  
  
"Yeah, I guess so. I need to go check on him." And with that, she turned and walked back to Curtain 2 where Abby had just finished with the stitches. She could hear Carter's footsteps behind her.  
  
"Well, Mr. Hamilton, try not to stab yourself with a steak knife next time," Abby was saying.  
  
"Well, well, well, if it isn't Sean Hamilton. Still getting into scrapes, I see."  
  
Sean looked up, taking Jing-Mei's hand in his right hand, "Deb dear, do you know this young man?"  
  
Carter frowned slightly, hearing someone other than him call Deb "Deb." How could Sean call her that? She hated being called that. His Deb was his Deb. There was no way..  
  
Jing-Mei fell into her role. "Gee, Sean dearest, I don't know.do you?"  
  
"I think I do. From Northwestern if I'm not mistaken. Little Johnny Carter."  
  
"Wait, wait," Abby was very intrigued. "Mr. Hamilton, you know Dr. Carter?"  
  
"Sure do. He was always the dork. Studying when everyone else was partying."  
  
"And you were always the playboy. Sleeping around when everyone else was studying."  
  
The tension mounted and Jing-Mei felt a little stung by that last remark. As though she was just a cheap date.like any other. Well, thankfully, they had gone out four times already, so hopefully, Sean wasn't just playing the playboy, as many society columns liked to dub him.  
  
"Well, now, I'm too busy for the playboy business, Carter. Being a CEO sure takes up a lot of time."  
  
"Right, and being Chief Resident isn't exactly an easy task either."  
  
The two men were staring eye to eye. Their remarks were made jokingly, but everyone else could feel the uneasiness. Two boys fighting for the sake of macho-ism. Thank god it wasn't over a girl. Jing-Mei squeezed Sean's hand a bit and he turned to smile at her.  
  
"I'll go get the car, okay? Meet me in the bay." He glanced at Carter. "It was nice seeing you again. See you at a reunion maybe?"  
  
"Right. See you." But his response was distant and cold.  
  
Jing-Mei watched at Sean exited through the sliding doors, and she sighed, snuggling in the warmth of his tuxedo jacket. Abby had already left, so that left her and Carter standing there.  
  
"So, are you going out with him?" Carter asked after an awkward silence.  
  
"So, are you going with Dr. Lewis?" she replied impishly.  
  
"How long you've been going out?"  
  
"Just a couple of weeks."  
  
"So, are you working at Mercy or Northwestern or something?"  
  
"No, not working. Taking a hiatus. Enjoying the society life."  
  
"Oh, I see." Beat. "I haven't talked to you in a while."  
  
"You have had your hands tied."  
  
"Yeah, I am kind of busy. What with the Chief Res thing and all."  
  
"Yeah, I guess you are."  
  
Silence.  
  
"Ummm..do you wanna go out for lunch sometime?"  
  
"Sure your girlfriend won't mind?"  
  
"Sure you boyfriend won't?"  
  
"Then it's a deal."  
  
"Two."  
  
"Next Thursday."  
  
"Sure."  
  
"It's a date?"  
  
"It's a date."  
  
Silence.  
  
"I think Sean's waiting for me."  
  
"Yeah, I think so too. I'll walk you out there."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
Carter stuffed his hands into the lab coat pockets. He couldn't figure out why he felt so awkward talking to Deb. He took a sidelong glance at her. Her throat was so creamy and long, like a swan's, and he couldn't help noticing her bosom, rising and falling in that torso-fitting gown. She seemed so regal all of a sudden. When she was wearing black pants and a shirt and lab coat, she was a colleague, a long-time friend, but now, it seemed as though she cared not for his company. Like she had forgotten those times when they sifted through a fish bin to find an appendage, when she had shocked him with those damn paddles, when she had pretended to give him a rectal, when she played that damn prank on him on April Fool's, when he had called her name after the stabbing, when he had helped her through Michael's birth, when he had held her to his chest, in his embrace, and kissed her on the head. No, she wasn't looking at him now. She was looking at Sean. Sean and his red Ferrari. What was this? He couldn't be jealous, could he? He was with Susan, he reminded himself. Deb was a friend. Just a friend. And now, maybe not even that.  
  
"It's really cold, John. You should go back in," Deb said, stepping up to the passenger door.  
  
Carter opened the door for her and let her slide into the seat. He couldn't help but look at her exposed right thigh, which she, seeing where his eyes were, quickly covered with her fur wrap. Carter turned away slightly, ashamed for even looking and more so for being caught. He whispered, "Thursday. Two." And he saw her nod. Sean thanked him once again, and Carter shut the door, watching the car take off and round the corner. Susan had come out into the bay.  
  
"Hey, Carter, you getting off soon?"  
  
"About an hour. You?"  
  
"Yeah, just about. So.uh."  
  
"Susan, feel like completing what we started?" Carter asked, still staring off into the distance. He felt like he was burning.  
  
"I thought you'd never ask.after Kovac."  
  
"I think the closet will be just fine." Carter replied, taking Susan's hand and walking back into the ER. 


End file.
